A synopsis of Lehoczki, F., Andics, A., Kershenbaum, A. et al. Genetic distance from wolves affects family dogs’ reactions towards howls. Commun Biol 6, 129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04450-9

Nearly all domestic dogs are fascinated by the vocalizations made by other animals, including wolves. But do they understand what wolf howls mean? The answer seems to vary widely depending on the dog and, it would seem, how closely related that dog is to its lupine ancestors.

Fanni Lehoczki, a post-doctoral research fellow at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, and her colleagues tested this hypothesis by comparing behavioral data on how dogs respond to wolf howls to the dog’s breed group.

In wolves, howling serves two functions. One is to help members of a pack find one another and the other is to maintain the boundaries of their territory and avoid contact with outsiders. If and how wolves respond to wolf howls varies with a range of factors. They can show a wide range of behaviors from increased attention to agonistic or submissive behavior. Domestication of dogs has changed how dogs communicate, for example, barking is a new behavior found in dogs but not wolves.

Dog breeds are considered ‘ancient’ or ‘modern’ depending on when the breed was selected. Ancient breeds like the Shar-Pei, Basenji, Akita, or Saluki, were bred more than 500 years ago with a focus on function and many were backcrossed with wolves during the selection process. Modern breeds have been bred for specialized purposes and appearance in the past 200 years. As a result, ancient breeds have much more genetic similarity to wolves. Lehoczki and her colleagues set out to test whether ancient breed dogs responded differently to wolf howls compared to modern breeds. 

The team conducted playback tests where recordings of both solo and chorus howls were played for the dogs. The dogs’ vocal responses- howls, barks, and whine were recorded. They predicted that more ancient breeds would have more ‘wolf-like’ responses: more howling and less barking or whining.  Because the tests were being conducted in a closed room, the dogs were also monitored for stress reactions such as yawning, mouth licking, and seeking the owner for comfort. They reasoned that ancient breed dogs would be more likely to interpret the howls to mean that they were uninvited guests in wolf pack territory and therefore more likely to experience stress.

For ancient breeds, the age of the dog is an important variable in determining how likely a dog is to howl back when it hears wolf vocalizations; younger dogs are much less likely to respond in kind to wolf howl. Modern breeds are less likely to respond by howling at any age. The same was true for stress reactions. Older ancient breed dogs showed significantly greater stress response compared to younger ancient breed dogs or modern breed dogs, regardless of age.

This study is an important step in helping us to understand how dog communication has evolved and been influenced by domestication. Lehoczki hopes to continue this work to include variables such as socialization and the acoustic features of howls, which may also communicate information about the caller’s sex, reproductive status, subspecies, or context.